Tag: San Francisco Giants

Solano with walk-off gives Giants their seventh win a row 10-8 in 11th

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The San Francisco Giants Brandon Belt heads on home after a three run home run in the first inning off of Los Angeles Dodger starter Julio Urias on Tuesday night at Oracle Park in San Francisco. The game wound up going 11 innnings when Donavon Solano hit a two run homer for the gamer. (photo from ap news)

By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO-Donovan Solano ended the game with one swing of the bat and gave the San Francisco Giants a huge victory.

Solano hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the 11th inning, giving the Giants an incomparable 10-8 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers, their seventh win in a row. This was the first career walk-off home run of Solanos career.

Mike Yastrzemski, who was 0-for-6 at the plate scored the tying run, as Evan Longoria singled to right field and then Solano ended it, when he launched a Dennis Santana pitch into the left field bleachers to give them the victory.

Justin Turner gave the Dodgers the lead for the second time in as many innings, as he beat out a dribbler back to the mound and no one was covering at first base. The Turner single scored Will Smith, who started the inning at second base and then went to third on a Corey Seager ground out.

Things got weird when the new rule of a runner on second base when extra innings begin bit both teams in the rear end.

Turner was on second base when the top of the 10th inning began, and then reached third on a passed ball by Joey Bart, and then scored on a Bart throwing error that gave the Dodgers a 7-6 lead.

Since Bart made the last out for the Giants in the bottom of the ninth inning, he went to second when the bottom of the 10th inning began.

Bart went to third on a Steven Duggar ground out, and then Brandon Crawford struck out for the second out of the inning, Mauricio Dubon hit a ground ball that Turner fielded at third base; however, he was unable to recover and get Dubon at first to end the game and Bart scored the tying run.

Brandon Belt tied up the game in the bottom of the ninth inning, as he hit his second home run of the game off of Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen.

Max Muncy gave the Dodgers an early 3-0 lead, as he slammed a three-run home run onto the right-center field arcade in the top of the first inning.

That lead did not last long, as Belt tied it up in the bottom of the first inning, as he hit the first pitch saw from Julio Urias and planted it into the center field bleachers.

It was a tough night for Giants starter Johnny Cueto, who lasted just four innings, allowing six runs on eight hits, walking just one and striking out six, as he did not fare in the decision

Urias also went four innings, allowing four runs on six hits, walking three and striking out six; however, he also did not fare in the decision.

Muncy, who got the Dodgers on the board in the top of the first inning, added another RBI in that third inning, as he walked against Cueto with the bases loaded to score Turner from third base. Turner singled after the Seager home run, then Cody Bellinger doubled Turner to third base and then scored on a wild pitch by Cueto.

Seager gave the Dodgers a 4-3 lead in the top of the third inning, as he homered off of Cueto for what looked like the game-winning run until Belts heroics in the bottom of the ninth inning.

Joc Pederson gave the Dodgers a three-run lead when he doubled to right field to score Bellinger.

Belt cut the Dodgers lead down to two runs in the bottom of the fifth inning, as he doubled in Longoria, who led off the inning with a single.

It was a big night for Belt and Longoria, who went a combined 8-for-10 at the plate with two home runs with six runs batted in.

The Giants loaded the bases in the bottom of the seventh inning, as Longoria and Belt each singled and then Solano reached on a fielding error and then Bart grounded into a double play that scored Longoria from third base. Bart was originally called safe; however, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts challenged the call and it was reversed after a short review. Unfortunately, came the rally to a screeching halt, when pinch hitter Pablo Sandoval struck out to end the inning and the threat.

In the victory, the Giants bullpen, which has been under a lot of scrutiny after blowing late leads recently, seemed in tip top shape, as they pitched the final seven innings and the combination, of Andrew Suarez, Trevor Gott, Wandy Peralta, Sam Coonrod, Shawn Anderson Caleb Baragar Jarlin Garcia, Tyler Rogers and Sam Selman gave up two runs on four hits, walked four and struck out seven in relief of Cueto. Selman, who pitched the 11th inning, won his first game of the season.

NOTES: Brandon Belt’s 9th-inning game-tying HR off Kenley Jansen is the 1st game-tying HR by a Giants player vs the Dodgers in the 9th inning or later since Mark Lewis on July 12, 1997 in LA. 1st at HOME since Barry Bonds on June 20 that season. Both off Todd Worrell. Thank you Sarah Langs for that note.

Andrew McCutchen came up with the last Giants walk-off home run against the Dodgers on April 7, 2018 off of Wilmer Font. In that game, McCutchen went 6-for-7 against Dodgers pitching.

UP NEXT: Kevin Gausman will take the mound on Wednesday night for the Giants, while the Dodgers will counter with Clayton Kershaw.

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary podcast: A’s play game 2 in Texas; Giants open up in LA tonight

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Oakland A’s pitcher Sean Manaea will try for his second quality start as he throws tonight against the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Field in Arlington in game two of the series (sfchronicle.com file photo)

On That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary podcast:

#1 Amaury talk about the two pitches that plate umpire Jim Reynolds missed on Sunday calling for balls that was thrown by A’s pitcher Liam Hendriks on Angels hitter Juan Castro. The first pitch was right down the middle and the second was in the upper strike zone both taken for called balls by Reynolds.

#2 On the A’s scoreboard before the Angels-A’s game on Sunday at the Oakland Coliseum when the starting line ups were normally announced by A’s PA announcer Amelia Schimmel the A’s replaced her with videos of the players family members announcing their number, name and position, for Marcus Semien his two small sons Isaiah and Joshua, for Matt Chapman his parents introduced him, and for pitcher Chris Bassitt his wife Jessica, daughter Landry and dog Ashley.

#3 The A’s before coming into Texas on Monday night have won four of their last five games going 4-1 for taking two games from Arizona and two out of three from the Angels they seem like their they’re getting timely hitting from Matt Chapman, Matt Olson and Stephen Piscotty.

#4 The San Francisco Giants are in the middle of a six game win streak with three in a row from the Angels and three in a row from the Diamondbacks and getting set to open a three game set with the Dodgers starting Tuesday night at Oracle Park.

#5 The starting pitchers for tonight for the Los Angeles Dodgers Julio Urias (2-0 ERA 2.74) and for the San Francisco Giants Johnny Cueto (2-0 ERA 4.35)

Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the Oakland A’s Spanish radio lead play by play talent on 1010 KIQI San Francisco and does News and Commentary each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Led by Yaz the MVP candidate, Giants are contending at compressed season’s midpoint

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By Morris Phillips

A week ago, the Giants were on life support, victims of too many ninth inning collapses in a short period of time. The prognosis? Take your medicine and get healthy for 2021.

A week later, and the Giants are sitting pretty, tied for seventh in an expanded, eight-team post-season pool that’s heated and refreshing.

How’s that? Well, in a 60-game season things happen fast. Fast like six-game winning streak fast.

Ok then, are the Giants any good, or is this smoke and mirrors?

That answer’s complicated, but let’s take a look.

Through 30 games–half the pandemic-truncated season–the Giants are 14-16, just six days after they were 8-16 and stuck in last place. Their schedule, unique given the uneven, 7/3 and 6/4 home/away splits for their four NL West opponents along with the sequence of the 60 games, has been especially harsh.

How harsh? The Giants have played 14 home games thus far, compared to a combined 11 games at Dodgers Stadium and Coors Field, both notoriously rough venues for visitors.

Given that, their schedule eases considerably in the second half starting with 19 of their remaining 30 games at Oracle Park or the Oakland Coliseum, which means just 11 more dates attached to hotel rooms, COVID restrictions, and the heightened, antsy atmosphere of being on the road in 2020.

The final 10 games? All locally, starting with three in Oakland, then the final seven at Oracle Park against the Padres and Rockies.

The expanded playoff field will take the top two finishers in each division plus the teams with the two best remaining records in the National League. While the Giants are competing for those final spots with the Cardinals (who have only played 17 games), Marlins and Mets, they don’t play any of those three teams, all of whom have horribly backloaded schedules due to COVID cancelations. Instead, the Giants will see either the Padres, Rockies or Diamondbacks in 20 of their remaining 30 games, allowing them to focus on climbing within the NL West and finishing second or third, both of which appear to be playoff spots at the moment.

The Giants boast one of the NL’s best offenses averaging nearly five runs per game, and nearly seven runs per game at home. So if you’re trying to envision how the Giants can win games down the stretch, start with the bats. In fact, in a recent development (in the last week, really) the Giants have an eye-popping 92 extra-base hits, 18 above the National League average. They’re third in doubles, second in triples and fourth in home runs with 38.

(If those numbers aren’t mind-numbing for Giants’ fans still stuck in the Bruce Bochy torture era, no numbers are.)

The pitching staffs the Giants will face aren’t imposing outside of the Dodgers and A’s, who are first and fifth respectively in terms of fewest runs allowed. The other four, remaining opponents have staffs with numbers at or well below the major league average, including the Mariners and D’Backs, who have been especially generous. Those four opponents with standard to substandard pitching account for 24 of the final 30 Giants’ game dates.

Offensively, the Giants have stars who not only reside among the league leaders statistically, but in many cases, lead the league. Austin Slater, currently on the injured list (and without enough at-bats to qualify) has an NL-best OBP of .458. Donovan Solano, despite cooling off recently, is hitting .363 with 33 hits.

And the Major League’s top offensive performer at the half way point, the unlikely MVP candidate who’s 30-years old with just 137 big league games under his belt?

Mike Yastrzemski.

The unassuming Yaz has a 309/.429/.645 slashline with 28 runs scored, 34 hits and 22 RBIs in 30 games. But there’s more: he’s second among all MLB performers in walks, triples, runs scored and tied for second in extra-base hits. In the complicated Wins Above Replacement (WAR) category, Yastrzemski has one peer: the Dodgers’ Mookie Betts.

Did we mention Joey Bart?

Giants fans, there’s only one requirement: stay tuned.

Anderson throws a complete game in Giants 5-1 victory

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The San Francisco Giants Tyler Anderson throws against the Arizona Diamondbacks for a complete game a rarity in MLB on Sat Aug 22, 2020 at Oracle Park in San Francisco (photo from abcnews.go.com)

By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO-Joey Bart came within inches of his first major-league home run, but he is probably happier with the outcome of the game.

Bart doubled for the third straight game in the bottom of the seventh that allowed Brandon Crawford to advance to third base, then after a Mauricio Dubon walk, Mike Yastrzemski walked to score Crawford with the eventual winning run and the San Francisco Giants made it five wins in a row with a 5-1 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Tyler Anderson pitched a fantastic game, as he threw a complete game, allowing one run on just three hits, not walking a batter and striking out four and he won for the first time as a member of the Giants.

I told him this (in Summer Camp): If youre dominant, were not going to take you out of the rotation, said Giants manager Gabe Kapler.

The left-hander is only the third Giants pitcher to throw a complete game over the past three seasons, joining Madison Bumgarner and Chris Stratton.

Showing how weird baseball is, when Stratton threw his complete game on September 14, 2018 against the Colorado Rockies, the starting pitcher for the Rockies in that game was none other than Anderson, who went six innings, allowing two runs on seven hits, not walking a batter and striking out six in a hard fought 2-0 loss to the Giants.

Anderson gave up a double to the second batter of the game in Ketel Marte; however, Anderson regrouped to get both Starling Marte and ChristIan Walker on ground outs to Crawford to end the inning and the threat.

David Peralta picked up the second hit of the night off of Anderson, as he singled to right field in the top of the seventh inning to score Starling Marte from second base. Marte reached base when the throw from Crawford was too high for Brandon Belt.

Marte then stole second without a throw by Chadwick Tromp, but Anderson was able to get out of the jam, as he got Eduardo Escobar to fly out to Yastrzemski in right field and then Nick Ahmed to ground into a force play to end the inning.

Yastrzemski made the defensive play of the game, as he robbed Ketel Marte of both extra bases and an RBI, as he made a fantastic catch against the chain linked fencing in right field. Just prior to the Yastrzemski catch, Anderson made one of very few mistakes, as he hit Kole Calhoun.

You keep yourself safest when youre fearless, said Kapler about Yastrzemskis phenomenal catch.

The Giants scored their first run of the game in the bottom of the first inning without the benefit of a hit, as Brandon Belt grounded into a double play that scored Yastrzemski from third base.

Diamondbacks starter Zac Gallen began the game on a shaky note, as he walked the first three batters of the game and then Belts double play scored Yastrzemski with the Giants lone run until the bottom of the seventh inning, when the game was broken open after three walks and a double by Bart that was nearly a two-run home run.

NOTES: Bart is just the third Giants player since at least 1901 with an extra base hit in each of his 1st career game (Thank you Sarah Langs for that note). He joins Buster Maynard in 1940, and John Bowker in 2008.

Anderson is the eighth pitcher this season to throw a complete game.

Gallen tied a major-league record for most games allowing three or fewer earned runs to start his career (all starts, no relief appearances. Gallen equaled the mark set by Aaron Sele of the Boston Red Sox from June 23, 1993 to April 19, 1994.

Austin Slater was placed on the 10-day injured list with a mild left groin strain that took place in the bottom of the first inning of Friday nights victory. Steven Duggar was recalled from the alternate site to replace Slater.

UP NEXT: Trevor Cahill heads to the mound on Sunday afternoon, as the Giants go for the sweep, while Luke Weaver will go to the mound for the Diamondbacks.

Flores and Longoria each go deep in Giants win 6-2

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By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO-Evan Longoria reached a milestone, but it was Wilmer Flores who came up with the biggest hit of the game.

Flores hit a two-run home run off of Robby Ray in the bottom of the fifth inning, helping the San Francisco Giants to a 6-2 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks at Oracle Park.

It was the team leading seventh home run of the season for Flores, and it was also the third straight game that he hit a home run. Flores added a single in the bottom of the seventh inning to boost his average up to .326 on the season.

Just two innings prior to the Flores home run, Longoria reached a historical milestone, as he became the 150th player to ever hit 300 home runs in a career.

Logan Webb, who did not fare well in his last outing against the Oakland As on Sunday afternoon, as he lasted 4.1 innings, allowing three runs three hits, walking five and striking out five in a 15-3 As victory; however, against the Diamondbacks, he pitched a great game.

Webb went seven innings, a new career high, allowing two runs on five hits, not walking a batter and struck out a career-high eight on his way to his second win of the season.

Mike Yastrzemski continues to hit the ball well, as he picked up two hits in four at-bats and is now hitting .320 on the season.

Rookie Joey Bart went 1-for-3 with a walk, as he drove in his first career run, as he walked with the bases loaded to score Yastrzemski from third base. Yastrzemski doubled down the left field and then went to third on a Flores single.

Bart doubled for the second evening in a row, as he smashed a double off the right field wall that sent Hunter Pence to third. Pence walked to lead off the bottom of the second inning against Ray.

Things begin did not well for the Giants, as they left five runners in the first two innings; however, for the remainder of the game after those first two innings, the Giants left four.

Tony Watson came on to replace Webb in the top of the eighth inning and gave up a base hit and struck out one.

Tyler Rogers came on to finish the game in the top of the ninth inning, as he allowed a single to Christian Walker, his fourth hit in four at-bats for the Diamondbacks; however, Rogers settled down to get Peralta, Escobar and former Giants catcher Stephen Vogt to fly out to Yastrzemski in right field to end the game.

The Diamondbacks scored their only runs of the game in the top of the fourth inning, as David Peralta doubled to right field to score Walker and then Eduardo Escobar singled to center field to score Peralta.

UP NEXT: Tyler Anderson will take the mound for the Giants on Saturday evening, as they for their fourth win in a row after a five-game losing streak. Zac Gallen heads to the mound for the Diamondbacks, as he looks for his first win of the season.

Bart’s debut a breeze, as the Giants cruise again, 10-5 over the Angels

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By Morris Phillips

SAN FRANCISCO–Joey Bart’s anticipated major league debut came with a pointed piece of advice from teammate Brandon Belt.

“Don’t mess it up.”

And Bart didn’t, contributing his first, major league hit–a double into the left field corner–after the Giants built a comfy 9-4 lead in the sixth.

The message to the No. 2 overall pick in the 2018 Draft could have been worded a little less blunt, without changing the content: “Kid, we’ve got a good thing going. Just follow our lead.”

Even for someone talented enough to do damage immediately, taking the pressure off was a good deal. Bart got a first hand look at a hot lineup bashing and circling the bases–then jumped in after the major damage was done in the Giants’ 10-5 win over the Angels. Bart’s double was the Giants last of 12 hits on the evening, the third night in row of Giants on Angels violence that saw the home team score 31 runs in taking three of four.

Bart had been touted as the missing bat, but the Giants aren’t actually missing one right now. They scored five runs or better for the 15th time in 27 games, and their run scoring average at Oracle Park is nearing seven runs per game.

Directing the pitching staff as an everyday presence in the lineup was the expectation for Bart as soon as franchise legend Buster Posey opted out of 2020, but until now GM Farhan Zaidi maintained the Georgia Tech product wasn’t ready. Before Thursday’s game, Zaidi and manager Gabe Kapler summarized Bart’s role.

“It’s serendipitous timing that the offense has been scoring some runs. We’ve won a couple of games,” Zaidi said. “It’s certainly nice to call them up when there’s some positive momentum. I do think with any young player, you don’t want a guy to feel like he’s coming up and has to like carry the offensive load.”

The pitching staff, which has allowed the third most home runs in baseball, and just ended a franchise-record 21-game streak of allowing at least one home run, needs help. Kapler would be satisfied if Bart provides that help.

“We may have to just monitor his workload early on based on how much work he got in Sacramento,” Kapler said. “Catching nine innings is a stressor, catching nine innings in a major league season is more of a stressor than it is in a secondary camp. We need to be cognizant of all those things. However, the goal is to build him to be our everyday starting catcher.”

Tyler Heineman was optioned to the Sacramento camp to clear space, and Chadwick Tromp is expected to continue in his role of catching Johnny Cueto when the veteran pitcher’s turn in the rotation comes up.

Bart had no complaints about the timing of his callup, saying “my time is going to come, and when it is here, I’m going to make the most of it.”

Bart did that in the sixth, keeping his hands back and exploding through the baseball, on a slower than slow 78 mph slider from Julio Teheran. The exit speed for the liner was nearly 110 mph, the hardest hit baseball by any Giant this year that didn’t result in a home run.

Wilmer Flores had three hits for the Giants, homering for the second consecutive game. Austin Slater scored twice and had two hits to raise his average to .347. And Brandon Crawford homered in the fourth to make it 9-1 Giants. The home run was the 100th of the shortstop’s career.

The Giants have won three straight for the first time in 2020. They welcome the Diamondbacks to Oracle Park on Friday for the first of a three-game series. Robbie Ray will face the Giants’ Logan Webb in a 6:45pm start.

Giants have modest two-game win streak after thumping the Angels 7-2

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By Morris Phillips

SAN FRANCISCO–It’s official: The Giants’ embarassing weekend is over.

After three days of being used like a doormat by the more talented A’s, the Giants have bounced back, winning a second straight over the Angels Wednesday night, 7-2.

Of course, the response against the struggling Angels won’t generate the headlines that getting embarrassed by the rival A’s did, but the Giants are back to their process. Just get better, one day at at a time.

Wilmer Flores came through with a two-strike, two-out, three-run homer, and Austin Slater hit a two-run shot to back Giants’ starter Johnny Cueto. The veteran pitcher won for the 128th time in his career, and moved to 2-0 on the season, pitching 5 2/3 innings, allowing four hits and two runs.

“Johnny pitched great and he was able to go deeper into the game for us,” manager Gabe Kapler said. “We asked a lot of him and he gave us a lot of pitches. We were able to hand the ball over to the bullpen and they did a nice job for us.”

While Kapler has walked on eggshells in regards to how he utilizes his pitching staff, penciling in his offensive lineup has been a comparative joy. Donovan Solano and Mike Yastrzemski have parked themselves among the league leaders in several offensive categories. The Giants are slighty above MLB average in home runs, triples and RBI. It’s a start for now, and it appears to be picking up steam. In the last eight games, the Giants have hit 13 homers while hitting .295 with runners in scoring position.

When Kapler was forming Wednesday’s lineup against left-hander Patrick Sandoval, Slater with his impressive numbers against lefties had to be penciled in as the DH batting leadoff. Flores or Belt at first base was a tougher call, but only because both are swinging the bat well. This time, Flores got the nod.

“You’re trying to give everyone an opportunity and stay sensitive to the fact that guys are making adjustments and trying to get better,” Kapler said. “This was one of those days. This was one of those lineups.”

Flores rewarded with two hits and four RBI while his batting average climbed to .301. Yastrzemski had a pair of knocks to lift his average to. 318. And Slater’s home run, single and a walk got his OBP to a team-best .453.

That’s progress for a club that at 10-16 is taking its lumps, but showing up everyday and playing for a new manager under unique circumstances.

Meanwhile, the Angels have had little go right in the last week outside of taking advantage of Trevor Gott on Monday for their only win of the stretch. At 8-17, they’re experiencing their worst 25-game start to a season in franchise history.

When the lineup, includes superstar Mike Trout, World Series MVP Anthony Rendon, high-priced import Shohei Ohtani, and future Hall of Famer Albert Pujols, that’s not pretty. Manager Joe Maddon, also in his first year, has been through plenty, but that doesn’t make it any easier.

“These are the moments when you just really, you do have to dig down deeply and you do have to fight through them and you do have to keep pushing to come out the other side,” Maddon said. “In our game, the thing that we have to do consistently well, and I’m not banging on the pitching, we just have to pitch more consistently.”

On Thursday, the Giants and starter Kevin Gausman will face lefty Jose Suarez in his season debut for the Angels.

Yastrzemski and Sandoval homer in Giants 8-2 win

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San Francisco Giants’ Alex Dickerson, right, congratulates Mike Yastrzemski after a solo home run during the first inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels in Anaheim, Calif., Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2020. (AP Photo/Kelvin Kuo)

By Jeremy Kahn

This time the San Francisco Giants built a lead too big that not even the Los Angeles Angels could come back from.

Mike Yastrzemski and Pablo Sandoval each hit home runs, as the Giants defeated the Angels 8-2 at Anaheim Stadium.

With the victory, the Giants put a stop to a five-game losing streak that included three demoralizing defeats in the late inning.

Yastrzemski hit his team-leading sixth home run, as he took the fourth pitch he saw from Angels starter Dylan Bundy over the right field wall to give the Giants an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning. It was the first leadoff home run of Yastrzemskis career.

The right fielder was the star of the day, as he also came up big on defense, as he robbed David Fletcher of a potential RBI single when he made a diving catch to end the bottom of the second inning.

Giants starter Trevor Cahill pitched four innings, allowing one run on four hits and striking out four. Cahill pitched for the Angels during the 2019 season. Reliever Jarlin Garcia, who was the fifth Giants pitcher of the afternoon evened his record on the season at 1-1.

Bundy also went four innings, as he allowed four runs on four hits, four walks and a strikeout, as he lost for the second time this season.

Sandoval tomahawked a two-run home run in the top of the second inning to increase the Giants lead up to 3-1 and give them the lead for good.

Tommy La Stella tied up the game, as he took a Cahill pitch deep over the right field wall, a solo home run that was measured at 420 feet.

Five Giants relievers went the final five innings allowing just one run on just one hit, walked two and struck out one. The quintet of Caleb Baragar, Sam Selman, Wandy Peralta, Garcia and Shawn Anderson gave the Giants morale boost after a tough weekend against the Oakland As and in the opener of the three-game series against Angels on Monday night, when La Stella hit a two-run walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the Angels a 7-6 victory.

NOTES: Yastrzemski now has 13 runs batted in with two strikes, tying him with Kole Calhoun of the Arizona Diamondbacks for the most in the major leagues. His batting average is .300 (15-for-50) when there is a count of that matter, and 10 of those hits are for extra bases.

When the first pitch was thrown by Bundy, the temperature at Anaheim Stadium was 99 degrees and it marked just the 10th time since the stadium opened on April 18, 1966 that the temperature was 99 or above. The record is 108 degrees on July 6, 2018 against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

UP NEXT: With the series heading up to the Bay Area, Johnny Cueto will take the ball on Wednesday night for the Giants, while Patrick Sandoval heads to the Oracle Park mound.

Giants’ Bullpen Blues: SF collapses in the ninth again, lose 7-6 to the Angels

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San Francisco Giants left fielder Alex Dickerson, bottom, dives for a ball hit by Los Angeles Angels’ Tommy La Stella as third baseman Evan Longoria jumps out of the way during the fifth inning of a baseball game in Anaheim, Calif., Monday, Aug. 17, 2020 (AP News photo)

By Morris Phillips

After the seventh inning, the perfect ending had to have crossed manager Gabe Kapler’s mind.

Six consecutive outs and the Giants could end their four-game losing skid with Mike Trout standing in the on-deck circle unable to lift his Angels.

If only Kapler had the horses..

Instead Trevor Gott surrendered a game-ending, two-run homer to Tommy La Stella in a 7-6 Giants’ loss, their third via a ninth inning collapse in four games.

For Gott, his season has gone from delight to disaster: the reliever elevated to closer has allowed six, ninth inning home runs while his ERA has ballooned to 14.73.

“We’ll look for a softer landing spot for him. I think we’re going to need to figure out how to get his confidence back,” Kapler said of Gott.

For La Stella and the Angels, the win was the perfect tonic for ending a four-game skid in which they were overpowered by the A’s before getting swept by the Dodgers over the weekend. The win marked the first time in 11 games they had won after trailing initially. And yes, the game did end with Trout due up next, but the prospect of the Giants getting what they wanted, fueled La Stella.

“I just wanted to make sure I didn’t swing out of the zone, especially with Mike coming up next,” La Stella said.

Trout did his damage earlier with a solo shot in the third that tied the game, 2-2. The Angels’ superstar became the first slugger to reach 10 home runs this season, only to see San Diego’s Fernando Tatis Jr. homer twice in their game against Texas to take the Major League lead with 11.

For the Giants, Trout’s homer off starter Tyler Anderson marked an ominous milestone, the 20th consecutive game the team’s pitching staff has allowed at least one home run, an ongoing franchise record.

The Giants led 2-0 after Brandon Belt’s homer in the first, then after they trailed 5-3, a three-run rally in the sixth gave them the lead again. Mike Yastrzemski’s two-run double scored Brandon Crawford and Mauricio Dubon to make it 6-5 Giants in the sixth.

Relievers Jarlin Garcia, Tyler Rogers and Tony Watson each pitched scoreless innings to get the Giants to the ninth with the lead. But Gott couldn’t hold it, striking out Brian Goodwin on three pitches, and allowing David Fletcher a bloop single before La Stella ended it.

Dylan Bundy, in search of his fourth win, will start for the Angels on Tuesday, opposed by Trevor Cahill for the Giants. Cahill served as a starter and reliever in 2019, his one and only season as a member of the Angels.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

San Francisco Giants podcast with Morris Phillips: After losing two in the late innings where is SF’s confidence?; Will Giants shop Cueto?

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San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Johnny Cueto, left, briefly talks with Los Angeles Dodgers’ Joc Pederson after Pederson flew out to end the third inning of a baseball game Saturday, Aug. 8, 2020, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

On the Giants podcast with Morris:

#1 Morris going into Anaheim and having lost the series to the Oakland mostly by late inning heroics by the A’s how much does that devalue the team’s confidence?

#2 The way you see it was this a matter of the Giants bullpen just failing or was it just bad pitch selection on pitches to Stephen Piscotty for his grand slam Friday to tie the game and to Mark Canha for his homer on Saturday?

#3 How bad is this Giants team collapsing a five run lead in the ninth inning and Giants pitcher Trevor Gott who gave up the game winning three run homer for the go ahead eventual winner.

#4 Morris how soon is practical for the Giants to bring up catcher Joey Bart who has been in training camp with the Sacramento Rivercats. Bart is close to being promoted but the Giants wanted to take a cautious approach to his promotion but fans and players are calling for him to come up to the show.

#5 There has been talk that Giants starter Johnny Cueto’s latest success might give him some trade value, Cueto had a great start on Friday before reaching his pitch count and nearly threw a no hitter against the Dodgers Sat Aug 8th.

Morris joins Sportstalk for the Giants podcasts on Mondays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com